The Counterfeit Crystal Ring

The announcement played over the cabin speakers.

"Ahh. This is Korean Airlines. We will be landing in Japan in approximately ten minutes. We hope everyone enjoyed their flight."

The students pressed their faces to the windows, eyes bright with excitement.

"Whoa. So that's Japan? First time I've ever been."

"This is my first time leaving the country at all. I'm so hyped it's insane."

But a few students remained indifferent.

"We're not here on vacation. We're here to explore a dungeon. Did you forget already?"

"Ugh. You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have zero sense of romance."

"What was that?"

Soon the plane touched down in Japan.

"All right, first-year Class A. Everyone follow me."

The students trailed after their homeroom teacher and exited the airport.

Outside, a middle-aged man stood waiting with a sign in his hands.

The teacher walked over and offered a handshake.

"Oh, you came out to greet us. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine."

"This gentleman is the one providing our accommodations. He's the owner of Ohikima Ryokan."

"Hello, everyone. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He offered a warm, gentle smile.

Yet the students' faces stayed lukewarm. It was obvious they were itching to run off and have fun somewhere.

"He's kindly agreed to provide free lodging for all Elphon Academy students for the duration of our three-day, two-night stay."

"Whoa, seriously?"

The words completely free made the kids' eyes light up in an instant.

"Yes. My own child attends an academy here in Japan, so I don't see you as outsiders. Every student I meet feels like my own son or daughter. Hehe."

He chuckled kindly.

I smirked to myself. Nice acting.

In truth, there was another reason he was offering the inn for free.

"The dungeon you'll be experiencing begins at three in the afternoon. I'll send the precise location to each of your phones."

"Teacher, it's only noon right now?"

The students' eyes sparkled with hope.

"Tsk—" The teacher clicked his tongue.

"Teacher, please. We've got free time until then, right?"

"......All right. I'll allow free time until three o'clock."

"Really?"

The students immediately began clustering with their friends.

"However."

At the teacher's addition, the moving students froze.

"You must travel in pairs of two."

"Aww—" Groans rose from the crowd.

"Then there will be no free time at all."

"Pairs of two is actually a great idea, don't you think?"

After that, the teacher randomly assigned the pairs.

Yet I kept feeling a stinging gaze from the side. I casually turned my head.

Jeong Hayeon's lips were pushed out in a pout.

The fact that she and I had been paired together. She probably wanted to be with Radeon and was disappointed it was me instead.

"If anyone wanders off separately from their assigned partner, I will heavily deduct from your participation score. Consider yourselves warned."

"Yeees—"

The students began to scatter in small groups.

"....."

I stared at her in silence.

Originally, she was supposed to obtain an item during this trip that would help trigger her awakening. She would have gotten it while exploring with Cha Jiyun.

The problem was that she had been paired with me instead.

I needed to guide her to the location of that item.

"Hey. Got anywhere you want to go?" I asked Jeong Hayeon.

"None of your business."

"We're in the same pair. Of course it's my business. We have to stick together."

"Being paired doesn't mean we absolutely have to stay glued to each other."

"The teacher said he'll deduct a ton of points if we don't."

"It's not like the teacher is going to follow us around and watch. How would he even know?"

"...."

"So we're going separately, right? Then I'm out."

Jeong Hayeon turned on her heel.

I couldn't let that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠happen.

Ring, ring, ring—

"Hello?"

I could sense Jeong Hayeon's ears perk up even from here.

"Yes, teacher. The thing is, my assigned partner Jeong Hayeon says she won't go around with me. About the participation score..."

She rushed over and snatched the phone from my hand.

"Haha. Teacher, we're moving together. No need to worry."

She shot me a fierce glare as she spoke.

"That wasn't even a real call. The phone wasn't connected."

"What?"

She looked down at the screen. Only then did she realize there was no active call.

"You crazy jerk. You scared me half to death."

Her face twisted in annoyance.

Then she turned her back on me again.

"Then I'm really leaving this time."

"Ah. But next time I really will call."

I spoke to her retreating figure.

"....."

Her steps halted. She let out a heavy sigh and walked back toward me.

If only she'd listened when I asked nicely.

"Fine. So where do you want to go? We still need to kill time until three."

"Yeah, I've got a place in mind."

"For real?"

"Yeah. Let's check out an artifact shop. There might be something useful for the dungeon."

"....I already have plenty of artifacts, though?"

She pulled out a mountain of artifacts from her subspace cloak.

It wasn't just the sheer quantity. Even at a glance, they were rare pieces ordinary people could never get their hands on.

As expected of the Hunter Association president's daughter, she had quite the collection of valuable items.

"I know a place with artifacts that would surprise even you."

"Artifacts don't really excite me anymore. I already own most of the decent ones. Wouldn't it be better to just grab something to eat?"

"Just trust me and come along. I know a shop with really good stuff..."

I flagged down a taxi.

Surprisingly, she climbed in without complaint.

I gave the driver the destination.

Ten minutes later we arrived at Ginza, the street famous for its luxury brands.

"Let's get out."

"Okay."

Jeong Hayeon stepped onto the sidewalk and looked around.

"Where exactly are we headed?"

"Just follow me."

She trailed behind me in silence.

Soon my steps stopped in front of an artifact shop.

The building's exterior screamed luxury. It was obvious at first sight that only the seriously wealthy shopped here.

A massive line stretched out front. It looked like it would take hours just to get inside.

"Hey. This line is ridiculously long. Won't it already be past three by the time we get in?"

"Doesn't matter."

I walked straight past the queue toward the entrance.

"Hey. Aren't you going to wait your turn?" Jeong Hayeon called after me.

"Doesn't matter. I reserved in advance."

"What? You made a reservation? At a place like this?"

The way she said you at a place like this stung a little, but I let it slide.

As I opened the door, a staff member stepped forward to block me.

"Sir, you must wait in line. Cutting ahead like this is not permitted."

"See? I told you we have to wait. Let's just go eat."

I turned on my phone.

The moment the staff saw it, their attitude flipped one hundred and eighty degrees.

"Ah. Please forgive my rudeness. I failed to recognize our VIP guest. Right this way, sir."

"What? You're a VIP here?" Jeong Hayeon stared at me in genuine surprise.

"Where may I guide you?" the staff member asked.

"Please take us to the ring artifact section."

"Understood."

I followed the employee inside.

"Hey." Jeong Hayeon tilted her head as she walked beside me.

"What?"

"Don't you always say rings are cumbersome and refuse to wear them?"

"....."

"I've never once seen you wearing a ring. I thought you hated them?"

That was a misunderstanding. I simply hadn't had the money to buy any ring artifacts before.

Of course, I still couldn't afford most of them now.

"Yeah. I do hate rings. That's why I don't wear them."

Admitting it was because I was broke would have hurt my pride, so I bluffed.

Following the guide, we entered a section filled entirely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with ring artifacts.

Jeong Hayeon's eyes sparkled as she looked around.

"Oh. You were right. There are quite a few decent artifacts here."

My gaze landed on a ring set with a shining crystal. That was the one she needed to obtain.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat.

"Hey. Isn't this one incredibly pretty?" I casually pointed it out to her.

"Oh. It really is gorgeous."

Jeong Hayeon let out an admiring sigh as she stared at the ring.

"That pretty, huh?"

"Yeah. Even without any effects, I'd want to wear it just because it's so beautiful."

"So that's the one you want?"

"Definitely. It's seriously pretty."

I let out a quiet breath of relief inside. Thank goodness.

Originally that artifact would become absolutely necessary for her future growth. I'm glad it caught her eye.

"Excuse me, how much is this ring?" I asked the employee.

"The price is ten million won."

"...Pardon?" Had I misheard? The original price of this artifact was three hundred million won.

It wasn't just beautiful on the outside. Its ability doubled the wearer's magic recovery rate, which was why it commanded such a high price.

"Ah... the truth is, the item we currently have in stock is not the genuine article."

"...Pardon?"

At that exact moment, a notification sounded.

"...."

Damn it. I knew it seemed too easy.

"The genuine article we originally carried was stolen, so we've displayed a replica modeled after its appearance."

"...."

The difficulty had suddenly shot up. Still, I could roughly guess what happened. Whoever stole the real ring... Tsk. What a shame.

Even so, even if this was only a counterfeit, perhaps the hidden function remained intact?

The ring's surface ability doubled magic recovery. But it also possessed a hidden effect.

I channeled my unique power as Nam Doyun into the ring.

Ding—

A blue interface appeared before my eyes.

I grinned. Even though it was only a counterfeit, the hidden function was still there.

"Then I'll take this ring."

"Are you certain? It's only a replica. Will that be all right?"

"Yes."

"I'll retrieve it for you right away."

Jeong Hayeon stared at me with a completely dazed expression.

I spoke to her.

"Hey."

But she didn't respond. She simply kept staring blankly at the ring.

"...?"

Finally she lifted her gaze from the ring to my face. Our eyes met.

Her pupils began trembling violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

"Hey. I'm going to the bathroom real quick."

Like someone running away, she hurriedly left the spot.